Cardboard box and method of making same

ABSTRACT

A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material wound on a core comprises an inner box having an open top in which the roll of material is rotatably supported so that it can be dispensed in incremental lengths by being pulled across a guide and cutter assembly mounted on the rear edge of the box. The open top of the inner box is covered by an outer box having an open end slid down over its open top and having a hinged cover, which when open, provides easy access to the open top of the inner box, and which when closed, cooperates with the walls of the inner box to provide a lighttight closure therefor. A novel method of making this box, or any box having a hinged cover, is to form up two open-ended boxes of complimentary shape from flat blanks of boxboard, then telescoped the open end of one box onto the open end of the other and fasten them together near the closed end of the inner box, score one wall of the outer box to provide a hinge line thereacross, then cut through the other walls of the outer box to form a continuous cut joining the two ends of said hinge line. Preferably, the scored hinge line will be made in the flat blank for the outer box before it is formed up and will have cemented in covering relation therewith a strip of suitable flexible material to act as a hinge for the cover.

United States Patent I Thomas et al.

[ 1 Sept. 5, 1972 CARDBOARD BOX AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME [72] Inventors: Raymond JQThomas; William G. McDonald; Walter B. Dunning, all of Rochester, NY.

[73] Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company, Rochi flt ii' nr [22] Filed: May 28, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: $0,004

Related us. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 772,215, Oct. 31, 1968,

Pat. No. 3,587,412.

[52] US. Cl. ..83/614, 83/649 [51] Int. Cl. ..B26d 5/10 7 [58] Field of Search "83/649,614,

[56] References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,645,543 7/1953 Mancini ..83/649 X 2,823,969 2/1958 Traver et al. ..83/649 X 3,142,217 7/1964 Busse...., ..'....83/649X Primary Examiner -Frank T. Yost Attomey-Walter O. Hodson et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material wound on a core comprises an inner box having an open top in'which the roll of material is rotatably supported so that it can be dispensed in incremental lengths by being pulled across a guide and cutter assembly mounted on the rearedge of the box. The open top of the inner box is covered by an outer box having an open end slid down over its open top and having a hinged cover, which when open, provides easy access to the open top of the inner box, and which when closed, cooperates with the walls of the inner box to provide a lighttight closure therefor. A novel method of making this box, or any box having a hinged cover, is to form up two open-ended boxes of complimentary shape from flat blanks of boxboard, then telescoped the open end of one box onto the open end of the other and fasten them together near the closed end of the inner box, score one wall of the outer box to provide a hinge line thereacross, then cut through the other walls of the outer box to form a continuous cut joining the two ends of said hinge line.

' Preferably, the scored hinge line will be made in the 6 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures ticularly to a box for dispensing a roll of light-sensitive material and its method of manufacture.

Certain photographic operations require the use of different lengths of light-sensitive film or paper in different standard widths up to 52 inches. It is customary to supply-thedifferent widths of such products in long rolls from which the user unwinds and cuts off different incremental lengths as desired for the job at hand. For the lack of better storage and dispensing facilities the purchaser generally uses the box in which a roll of material is shipped to him for storing and dispensing the material after he receives it. Because these rolls are quite heavy, especially in the wider widths' and when the material is film, conventional shippingboxes for rolls of this material are not entirely satisfactory for this dispensing use for one or more of the following reasons: they do not provide an easy access and a reclosable box which is completely lighttight after it has once, been opened; they do not suspend the rolls so that a given length of material can be readily pulled therefrom as desired and so as to eliminate abrasion and pressure marking of the product due to handling; no means is provided for severing given incremental lengths of material from the roll, etc.

One object of the present invention is to provide an easy access box having a lighttight hinged cover allowing desired lengths of material to be readily pulled from a roll, which is rotatably mounted within the box, and across a cutting assembly for severing a given incremental length of material from the roll.

Another object is to provide a novel method of making the above-mentioned box, or any box having a hinged cover, from boxboard or like material.

The novel features that we consider characteristic of our invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its mode of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational, exploded view showing a box constructed in accordance with the present invention with the cover open and showing the film cutting means and roll of material to be packaged in said box separated therefrom in such a way as to indicate how they fit onto and into, respectively, said box;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 22 of FIG. 1, but showing the cutting means in its as sembled position on the box and showing the roll of product in the box in phantom for purposes of clarity;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the blank of boxboard from which the open-top inner box member of the complete box is formed up;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the blank of boxboard from which the cover is formed up;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the blank of boxboard from which the band around the bottom of the box is made;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the light lock for the cover;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the light lock shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is an exploded front elevational view showing the shape of the individual components of the box made up from the blanks shown in FIGS. 3-5 and indicating how they are to be assembled;

FIG. 9 is an exploded end view corresponding to FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a blank of boxboard from which the hinged-cover for a box can be made in a novel manner according to the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an open-bottom box 'for'rned up from the blank shown in FIG. 10.

In general, the present box is manufactured from heavyboxboard and comprises an inner box having an open top and to the rear wall of which a cover is hinged so as to drop below the upper edge of the rear wall of the .box when in its open position. Two separate pieces of boxboard are attached to the inside of the front of the cover to mate with the inner side of the front wall of the box when the cover is closed for the purpose of providing a light lock. The roll of film or paper wound on'an open-ended core is suspended in the box on a pair of core plugs madeof a suitable plastic and having a central hub and four flat side surfaces to support the roll. One core plug is mounted on each end of the roll by having its hub extending into the open end of the roll core and the assembled core plugs and roll are dropped into the box. The flat sides of the core plugs engage the walls of the box to keep the plugs from rotating so that the film is dispensed by the roll rotating on the hubs of these core plugs.

For cutting given incremental lengths of film from the roll the upper back edge of the box is cut down and an extruded plastic cutting guide of the same length as the interior length dimension of the box is placed over the cut-down edge and held in place by a gripping action designed into the extrusion. A cutting knife consisting of an injection molded plastic body with an embedded razor blade slides back and forth along the cutting guide. The knife is restrained to slide inthe cutting guide and cannot be removed without first removing the cutting guide from the rear wall of the box. The roll film is dispensed across the cutting guide and the knife is run across the film width, cutting the film in whatever incremental length the customer desires.

If a moisture barrier is needed for the roll of film as originally shipped, it can be provided by a laminate of aluminum foil, clear polypropylene and a thin, heatsealable coating on the foil side made up in the form of a sleeve. During packaging, the sleeve is pulled over the roll, the ends of the sleeve are folded into the roll core, and the core plugs are inserted to hold the sleeve material in intimate contact with the interior of the roll core. The plugging action of the core plugs completes the moisture barrier. Before use the sleeve is removed and the core plugs are reinserted into the core ends, or the sleeve may be provided with a suitable rip strip to allow it to be removed without having to lift the roll from the box.

Referring now to the drawings, the complete box 10, constructed in accordance with the present invention, comprises an inner open-top box member 11 having double thickness end walls 12, and single thickness,

front, back and bottom walls l3, l4 and 15, respectively. The top edge of the back wall 14 is cut down below the top edge of the end walls 12 to receive a cutting assembly 16. This cutting assembly comprises an extruded plastic cutting guide 17 of the same length as the interior length dimension between the end walls 12 of the inner box member 11. This cutting guide 17 includes two downwardly extending arms 18 and 19 which are spaced apart to slip down onto the cut-down top edge of the back wall 14 of the inner box member 11 and, by reason of the manner they are extruded,

they are adapted to grip the opposite faces of the back wall to firmly hold the cutting guide on the top edge of said wall when it is pushed down upon it. Extending forwardly from the arm 18 and running the full length of the cutting guide 17, there is a slotted box-shaped track 20 which is open at both ends. Slidably mounted in the track 20 is a knife assembly comprising a plastic part consisting of an enlarged end 21 slidably'confined in the track 20, a narrow neck portion 22 extending upwardly through the slot in the track and terminating in a knob 23 which can be manually grasped to slide the knife assembly along the track. Embedded in the narrow neck portion 20 is a razor blade 24 which extends vertically or at a slight angle-to the top of the cutting guide 17. Preferably, the razor blade extends from only one side of the knife assembly so that it will cut only when the knife assembly is moved in only one direction, to the right looking at FIG. 1. The knife assembly is slid into one of the open ends of the track while the cutting guide is removed from the back wall of the inner box member. After the cutting guide is assembled onto the top of the back wall of the inner box member 11, the knife assembly is restrained by the end walls 12 from becoming disengaged from the track. To allow ready access to the knob 23 when it is at either end of the track 20, the rear corners of the end walls 12 are notched out as indicated at 25.

The roll of film or paper 28, which is wound on an open-ended core 29, is rotatably suspended within the inner box member 11 by having a core plug 30 inserted into each end of the roll core before it is dropped into the inner box, see FIG. 1. These core plugs 30, which may be made of plastic, have a hub portion 31 which extends into the open end of the roll core and a flange portion 32 having flat sides. When the roll of film with the core plugs inserted into the ends thereof are dropped into the box, see FIG. 2, one or more of the flat sides of the core plug flanges engage one or more of the walls of the inner box 11 to prevent the core plugs from rotating within the box. Consequently, when film is to be dispensed from the box the free end of the same is grasped and pulled rearwardly of the box and across the top of the cutting guide 17, the roll of film rotating on the hubs of the core plugs at this time. When the desired length of film is extended across the cutting guide 17, as indicated by broken lines in FIG. 2, then the knob 23 of the knife assembly is grasped and the knife blade 24 is slid across the width of the film to sever the desired length of film from the roll.

The inner box member 11 is formed up from a flat, scored blank of heavy boxboard of the shape shown in FIG. 3. The panel bounded by double score lines 35 and single score lines 36 and 37 is the bottom wall. The panel 14 bounded on three sides by double score lines a perpendicular relation relative to the top wall 46, the

38 and the single score line 37 is the back wall. The panel 13 bounded by double score lines 38 and the single score line 36 is the front wall. The double end walls 12 of the inner box are formed by end flaps 12', 12", and 12" being folded up into overlapping relation as indicated clearly in FIGS. 8 and 9. This inner box is formed up by first bending up the flaps l2 and 12" along the double score lines 38 and 39, respectively. At this time the free straight edges 40 of the flaps 12' and 12" will be brought into butting relation, see FIG. 9, and then the flaps 12" are bent up along the double score lines 38 into overlapping relation with the flaps 12 and 12". The inner box 11 is held in this formed-up condition by stitching the flaps 12" to the butting flaps 12' and 12" as indicated at 41 in FIG. 9.

Hinged to the rear wall of the inner box member 1 1 is a a cover 45 including a top wall 46, a front wall 47, a back wall 48, and two end walls 49. This cover is formed up from a flat, scored blank of heavy boxboard of the shape shown in FIG. 4. When the walls or panels 47 48 and 49 are bent up along single score lines 50 to cover is maintained in a-formed-up condition by joining the butting edges of the walls 47 48 and 49 in the conventional manner by corner stays 51 as indicated in FIGS. 8 and 9. The lower'edge of the end walls of the cover are cut at an angle to the front and back walls as shown to give easy access to the material in the box when the cover is opened. So that the cover will close, the front comers of the end walls 12 of the inner box 1 l are cut off at an angle as shown at 52.

So that the outside of the box will have a flush surface whenthe cover is closed, a band 55 of heavy boxboard of the same gauge as that from which the cover is made is wrapped around the bottom of the inner box. This band 55 is formed up from a flat sheet of boxboard which in its blanked out and scored condition appears as shown in FIG. 5. The band 55 is scored from top to bottom at lines 56, 57 and 58. When the band is folded along these score lines and the free ends are corner stayed together in the conventional manner as indicated at 59 in FIGS. 8 and 9, a rectangular band is formed which can be slipped up onto the bottom of the box member 11 until its bottom edge is flush with the bottom 15 of the box member 11, see FIG. 2. This band will be cemented, or otherwise attached, to the walls of the box member 11 to keep it in this position thereon.

In order to obtain a satisfactory light lock between the front wall 47 of the cover and the front wall 13 of the inner box 11 when the cover is closed, the front wall of the cover is provided with a light lock 60. As most clearly shown in FIG. 7, this light lock comprises two strips of boxboard 61 and 62 adhered in face-toface relation in the manner shown. These two strips are each substantially the same length as the inside length dimension of the front wall 47 of the cover but strip 61 is slightly wider than strip 62 so that it overhangs the edge of strip 62. The two strips 61 and 62 can be made of the same or different gauge boxboard, but it is imperative that the narrower strip 62 be of a gauge equal to, or greater than, the gauge of boxboard from which the inner box is made. The light lock is fixed to the inside of the front wall of the cover 45 by cementing strip 62 in face-to-face contact with the inside of the front wall of the cover and with the flush edges of strips 61 and 62 butting the inside surface of the top wall 46 as shown in FIG. 9. Inasmuch as the gauge of strip 62 is equal to or greater than that board from which the box member 11 is made, when the cover is closed, the edge of strip 61 extending beyond the edge of strip 62 and spaced from the front wall of the cover will overhang the inside surface of the front wall 13 of the inner box member. Since the inside of the front wall 47 of the cover engages the outside surface 13 of the front wall of the inner box member, and the edge of strip 61 engages the inside surface of the front wall 13 when the cover is closed, a tortuous path is provided between the front wall of the box and the front wall of the cover through which rays of light cannot pass. As shown in FIG. 6, the corners of the light lock 60 are cut away as indicated at 67 to accommodate the thickness of the double end walls 12 of the inner box member in order to allow the cover to fully close.

The manner of assembling this box will now be described with specific reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. After the inner box member 11, the cover 39 and the band 55 are individually formed up in the manner described above, they will appear as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 which also depict the relation in which they go together. First a narrow stripe of suitable adhesive is applied to one or more of the upright walls of the inner box member 11 adjacent the bottom wall thereof as indicated at 70. The formed-up rectangular band 55 is then telescoped up onto the bottom of the inner box member 11 until the bottom edge thereof is flush with the bottom wall of the inner box member, see FIG. 2. The cover 39 is then telescoped down over the open top of the inner box member 11 until its lower edge butts with the upper edge of the band 55. Then a strip of flexible material 71, e.g., cambric, is adhered to the back wall 48 of the cover 39 and the backwall of the band 55 in superposed relation with the line of separation between the two to form a hinge for the cover. While in FIG. 9 this hinge strip 71 is shown as being attached to the back wall of the cover 39 before the parts are assembled, this has been done primarily to show where this hinge member will ultimately appear in relation to the cover rather than indicating the order in which the parts are assembled. It is obvious that this hinge strip 71 could, and preferably would, be applied to the back wall of the cover and the back wall of the band after these two parts are telescoped onto the inner box member 1 1 and into butting relation.

Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11, we will describe another, and a preferred method of making the present box which is cheaper and easier to perform that that described since it eliminates at least one part and the operations necessary to forming that part and assembling it in combination with the other parts. It should also be pointed out that while this method is particularly applicable to the production of a dispensing box of the type described, it is not limited to the production of such a box, but finds utility in the production of any type of box having a hinged cover.

Instead of forming the cover 39 and the band 55 as separate components and assembling them separately onto the outside of the inner box member 11 in the manner described above, these two components are replaced by a single open-bottom box 75 which is formed up from a single blank 76 of heavy boxboard of the shape shown in FIG. 10. The panel 46' of this blank defined by score lines 50 constitutes the top of the box 75. Panels 47, 48 and 49 are folded down along score lines 50 at right angles to the top panel 46' and are held in this condition by having their abutting edges joined by a conventional corner staying operation. It will be noticed that the depths of the side walls 49', the front wall 47', and the back wall 48' are equal to each other and equal to the combined depths of the cover 39 and band 55 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. l-9. In other words, when the box is telescoped down onto the open end of inner box 11 until the edges of the open bottom of the box 75 are flush with the bottom of the box 11, a completely closed box is formed which looks like the completed box of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 except that it will have no hinge cover as yet.

To form a hinged cover like the cover 39, the panel 48' of the blank 76 is perforated along a line 77 spaced from, and substantially parallel to the top wall 46. This forms a frangible hinge line across the back wall which divides this wall into two sections corresponding to the back wall 48 of the cover 39 and the back wall of the band 55 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. Since the frangible hinge line 77 will break the first time the cover is bent along it, a strip of frangible hinge material 71, e.g., cambric, is adhered to the panel 48' in superposed relation to this line. It will be seen that the frangible hinge line 77 is provided merely to make it possible to blank the box 75 from a single sheet of boxboard and handle it as a single piece while it is being formed up. While the blank 76 is in its flat condition the light lock 60 can be adhered to the front wall panel 47 in the position indicated.

After the bottomless box member 75 is formed up and a stripe 71 of adhesive is applied around the walls of the inner box 11 adjacent the bottom thereof, see FIG. 1, the box member 75 is telescoped down onto the open end of the inner box 11 until the edge of the open bottom of box 75 is flush with the bottom 15 of the inner box 11. When the box members 75 and 11 are thus assembled, the bottom wall 15 of the inner box member 11 forms a bottom for the box member 75 so that in effect there is provided a completely enclosed box having no access to its interior. Now the side walls 49' are cut through along diagonal lines extending from opposite ends of the frangible hinge line 77 in the back wall 48' to the front wall and then the front wall 47 is cut through along a line 81 substantially parallel to the top edge of box 75 and joining the two diagonal lines 80. This separates the side walls and the front wall of the box 75 along a continuous line joining opposite ends of the hinge line 77 and provides a hinged, or fliptop, cover for the box like the cover 39 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-9.

The cuts made through the side walls and front wall along lines 80 and 81 can be made by hand using the equivalent of a miter box into which the assembled boxes 75 and 11 are placed to control the direction and depth of the cuts made through the side and front walls of the box 75 so that they will join and form a continuous line and will not cut through the side and front walls of the inner box member 11. On the other hand, the assembled boxes 75 and 11 could be placed in an especially designed jig, not shown, having three separate power operated knives which would make these three cuts in sequence simultaneously, upon a signal from an operator. The roll of web material 30 can be placed within the inner box before or after the box 75 is assembled onto the box 11 and cut to form the hinged cover. After the box is completely formed and loaded, the hinged cover may be held closed during shipment by a strip of adhesive tape, not shown, placed over the lines of separation 80 and 81 between the hinged cover and the bottom portion of the box. It goes without saying that the outside surfaces of the box 75 and the hinge strips 71 or 71' will preferably be covered with a layer of paper, not shown, which will cover the comer stays, the hinge strip, etc. to give the box a desired finished look.

It will be appreciated that making the box shown in FIGS. 1 and 2in this last-mentioned manner, rather than inthe manner shown and described in connection with FIGS. 39, eliminates the need for blanking out, storing, forming upand assembling one component, namely band 55. Thisnot only simplifies and reduces the cost of the manufacture of such a box, but it eliminates the problems which arise in making the mating edges of the top 39 and band 55 meetproperly when the-parts are assembled as separate components on the inner box member 11.

While we have specifically described and illustrated this last-mentioned method of making a box having a hinged cover in connection with a particular form of dispensing box for web material, it is pointed out that this method would be applicable to the fabrication of any type of boxboard box having a hinged cover. For example, a simple, single-walled box having a hinged cover could be made starting with a blank of boxboard similar to that shown at 76 in FIG. and which forms up into a bottomless box of the type shown in FIG. 11. The dimensions of this box can be altered as desired and the light lock 60 could be omitted from the front wall 47 Now if a shallow tray formed up from a blank of boxboard in the conventional manner is slipped into and cemented to the inside of the side walls of the box, a bottom will be formed in the box and a completely enclosed parallelepiped or cube will be formed. Then by cutting through the side walls 49' and the front wall 48 in a continuous line from one end of hinge line 77 to the other end thereof, a cover will be formed on the box which will hinge along line 77. The cuts through the side walls 49 need not be made on a diagonal as shown above, butmay be made parallel to the top and bottom of the box as is generally the case with hingetop boxes. In making conventional single-walled boxes in this way, the cover will generally be made much more shallow than that shown in the particular dispensing box disclosed so that the box portion proper will be substantially larger than the cover and will possess sufficient rigidity to retain its shape while adequately supporting the cover portion so as to allow it to move to and from an open position relative thereto.

We claim:

1. A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material wound on a core comprising in combination;

a. a rectangular, box of heavy boxboard having an open top and including a bottom wall, two end walls, a front wall and a back wall;

b. means within said box for rotatably suspending a roll of material therein;

c. a cover member of heavy boxboard including a top wall, two end walls, a front wall and a back wall, the lower edge of the back wall of said cover member hinged to the back wall of said box along a line intermediate the top and bottom edges of said box back wall adapting the cover member to move between a closed position, wherein it closes the open top of said box and the back wall, end walls and front wall of said cover member overhang corresponding walls of said box, and an open position, wherein the top edge of said back wall of the box extends above the bottom edge of any wall of said cover member;

. means fixed to and extending lengthwise of the inside of the front wall of said cover member in spaced relation with the lower edge thereof for engaging the front wall of said box when said cover member is closed and in combination with the front wall of said cover member forming a light lock between the engagingfront wall of said box and cover member; and

. a cutter reciprocally mounted on the top edge of the back wall of said box for severing a length of light-sensitive material drawn from said roll across the top edgeof said back wall of the box.

2. A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material as defined in claim 1, wherein the means for forming a light lock between the engaging front walls of said box and cover member comprises a strip of cardboard spaced from the inside of the front wall of said cover member by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of heavy boxboard and adapted to engage,

.and extend below the top edge of, the front wall of said box in the closed position of said cover member.

3. A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material as defined in claim 1 including a cutting guide mounted on the top edge of the back wall of said box and across which a length of light-sensitive material withdrawn from a roll in said box may be drawn, and wherein said cutter is slidably mounted on said cutting guide to be manually reciprocated thereacross to sever the length of light-sensitive material passing thereover from the roll within the box.

4. A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material as defined in claim 3, wherein said cutting guide is a member separate from said box and adapted to be slid down onto the top edge of the back wall of the box, and wherein said cutter comprises a knife support to intersect the path of a length of light-sensitive material drawn across said cutting guide.

5. A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material as defined in claim 4, wherein the back wall of said box is cut down and the rear comers of the end walls of said box are cut away to allow the cover member to be moved to its closed'position while the cutting guide with the knife support confined thereon is mounted on the top edge of the back wall of the box.

6. A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material wound on an open-ended core comprising in combination:

a. an inner part of heavy boxboard having an open top and including a bottom wall, two end walls, a front wall, and a back wall;

b. a removable core plug located within said inner part adjacent each end wall thereof and adapted to extend into the open-ends of the core of a roll of 9 l material to rotatably support the roll within said open position, wherein it uncovers the open top box, each of said core plugs having at least one 7 of said inner part and the edge of the front wall straight edge engaging a wall of said inner part to of said cover lies in a plane which does not interprevent rotation of the plugs within the box; sect a substantially horizontal plane containing c. means enclosing said inner part and including, the upper edge of the back wall of said inner 1. a band of heavy boxboard fixed to and embracpart;

ing the lower end of the two end walls, from wall d. a cutting guide extending along the top edge of the and back wall of said inner part, and back wall of said inner part across which a length 2. a cover member of heavy boxboard in l di a of light-sensitive material unwound from the roll top wall, two end walls, a front wall and a back 10 y be drawn} and wall, the lower end of the back wall of said cover a cutter q p y mouflted on cumflg hinged t th upper d of h portion of i guide for cutting a length of light-sensitive material d embracing the back wall f said inner part pulled from said roll and extending across said to move between a closed position, wherein it clmmg edgecloses the open top of said inner part, and an 

1. A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material wound on a core comprising in combination; a. a rectangular box of heavy boxboard having an open top and including a bottom wall, two end walls, a front wall and a back wall; b. means within said box for rotatably suspending a roll of material therein; c. a cover member of heavy boxboard including a top wall, two end walls, a front wall and a back wall, the lower edge of the back wall of said cover member hinged to the back wall of said box along a line intermediate the top and bottom edges of said box back wall adapting the cover member to move between a closed position, wherein it closes the open top of said box and the back wall, end walls and front wall of said cover member overhang corresponding walls of said box, and an open position, wherein the top edge of said back wall of the box extends above the bottom edge of any wall of said cover member; d. means fixed to and extending lengthwise of the inside of the front wall of said cover member in spaced relation with the lower edge thereof for engaging the front wall of said box when said cover member is closed and in combination with the front wall of said cover member forming a light lock between the engaging front wall of said box and cover member; and e. a cutter reciprocally mounted on the top edge of the back wall of said box for severing a length of light-sensitive material drawn from said roll across the top edge of said back wall of the box.
 2. A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material as defined in claim 1, wherein the means for forming a light lock between the engaging front walls of said box and cover member comprises a strip of cardboard spaced from the inside of the front wall of said cover member by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of heavy boxboard and adapted to engage, and extend below the top edge of, the front wall of said box in the closed position of said cover member.
 2. a cover member of heavy boxboard including a top wall, two end walls, a front wall and a back wall, the lower end of the back wall of said cover hinged to the upper end of that portion of said band embracing the back wall of said inner part to move between a closed position, wherein it closes the open top of said inner part, and an open position, wherein it uncovers the open top of said inner part and the edge of the front wall of said cover lies in a plane which does not intersect a substantially horizontal plane containing the upper edge of the back wall of said inner part; d. a cutting guide extending along the top edge of the back wall of said inner part across which a length of light-sensitive material unwound from the roll may be drawn; and e. a cutter reciprocally mounted on said cutting guide for cutting a length of light-sensitive material pulled from said roll and extending across said cutting edge.
 3. A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material as defined in claim 1 including a cutting guide mounted on the top edge of the back wall of said box and across which a length of light-sensitive material withdrawn from a roll in said box may be drawn, and wherein said cutter is slidably mounted on said cUtting guide to be manually reciprocated thereacross to sever the length of light-sensitive material passing thereover from the roll within the box.
 4. A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material as defined in claim 3, wherein said cutting guide is a member separate from said box and adapted to be slid down onto the top edge of the back wall of the box, and wherein said cutter comprises a knife support to intersect the path of a length of light-sensitive material drawn across said cutting guide.
 5. A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material as defined in claim 4, wherein the back wall of said box is cut down and the rear corners of the end walls of said box are cut away to allow the cover member to be moved to its closed position while the cutting guide with the knife support confined thereon is mounted on the top edge of the back wall of the box.
 6. A dispensing box for a roll of light-sensitive material wound on an open-ended core comprising in combination: a. an inner part of heavy boxboard having an open top and including a bottom wall, two end walls, a front wall, and a back wall; b. a removable core plug located within said inner part adjacent each end wall thereof and adapted to extend into the open ends of the core of a roll of material to rotatably support the roll within said box, each of said core plugs having at least one straight edge engaging a wall of said inner part to prevent rotation of the plugs within the box; c. means enclosing said inner part and including, 